Cover for use with helmets and method

ABSTRACT

A helmet cover is disclosed. The covering includes a knitted fabric formed into a dome shape. The fabric may include two or more holes configured to allow a goggle retention strap to pass through in order to enable the goggle retention strap to form a closed loop.

BACKGROUND

This application relates generally to covers for helmets. More specifically, this application relates to a cover for a snowboard helmet sized and shaped to provide protection for both the helmet covered portion of a wearer's head from the cold and also parts of the wearer's head from the cold that are not covered by the helmet, and a cover that can be worn directly on the head.

SUMMARY

During particularly cold conditions the vents of a snowboarding helmet can allow uncomfortably cold air to contact the wearer's head. In addition, helmet vents can also allow snow to enter the helmet. Attempts have been made to provide covers for snowboard helmets. However, these snowboarding helmet covers still leave portions of the wearer's head exposed to the cold. Uncovered portions of the wearer's head may include the space below the lower edges of the helmet, and in particular the space between the lower front edge of the helmet and the top edge of a snowboarder's goggles.

Therefore, there is a significant need for a snowboard helmet cover configured to provide extra warmth for the helmet user, and to provide extra protection to reduce the risk of snow from entering into the vents of the helmet by creating a physical barrier, and to provide skin coverage, in areas of the head including the area of the forehead where the snowboard helmet and goggles fail to cover in cases when there is a shape mismatch or incompatibility between the helmet and goggles.

Another common problem snowboard helmet wearers face is what is referred to as “helmet hair”, a rather unattractive flattening of the hair by the helmet. What is needed is a single article that may be used as a separate “beanie”, or tuque, as a hair covering; as an article to protect from the cold that can be worn directly on the head; and as a helmet cover. Embodiments in the present disclosure may also provide an extra layer of fabric over the wearer's ears. Embodiments, may take advantage of the difference in size between the outer surface of a snowboarding helmet and a wearer's head to provide extra fabric that may be rolled, or folded, to provide extra material to cover the wearer's head.

Snowboarding culture often includes a strong element of self expression. Therefore what is also needed is a snowboarding helmet cover having one or more customizable features that a wearer can use to express oneself. What is also needed is a single article that can be used both over the helmet to provide warmth, and/or to provide decorative value, and/or to be worn comfortably directly on a wearer's head.

Many snowboard helmets include a goggles clasp on the back of the helmet to reduce the risk of the goggles from being completely separated from the helmet and possibly becoming lost. Various embodiments of the helmet cover according to the disclosure may be constructed with a knitted fabric. This may provide an easy way to slip the clasp through the knits to enable it securely attach to the helmet. This may add to the ability to customize how the helmet cover sits on the helmet, in that it may be positioned in multiple ways on the helmet, for example facing forward, backwards, or at angles.

In addition, with existing helmet arrangements, goggle slippage can be a problem when used with a helmet, since the surface of the snowboard/ski helmets are generally smooth and slippery. Accordingly there is also a need to provide an extra means of anchoring the goggles when they are not in use. Embodiments may provide a surface on the helmet to reduce the risk of goggle slippage.

This application discloses a helmet cover for use with a snowboard helmet that is economical to produce, of simple construction, and capable of mass production, but also capable of providing a user with a head covering that can be worn directly on the head.

In particular, this application also discloses a snowboard helmet cover including a fabric sized and shaped to substantially cover at least a majority of the outside surface of the helmet. The fabric may include at least two slits therein. A first of the at least two slits may be disposed in the fabric to allow one or both of two mating portions of a goggle retention strap connected to the helmet to pass therethrough. A second of the at least two slits may be disposed in the fabric to allow one or both of the two mating portions of the goggle retention strap connected to the helmet to pass therethrough, the first and second slits thereby allowing the first and second portions to mate.

This application also discloses a helmet cover including a knitted fabric formed into a dome shape. The fabric may include a plurality of holes configured to allow a goggle retention strap to pass therethrough in order to enable the goggle retention strap to form a closed loop.

Embodiments may be made using various materials in various combinations. For example, materials may include lion brand wool-ease thick and quick yarn with a soft, warm blend of lamb's wool and easy-care acrylic in green, black and red; 2. 9.0 mm 16″. Embodiments may be constructed using needles for knitting, for example, circular needles, felt in various colors, decorative buttons, and colored threads. All or some parts of the helmet cover according to various embodiments may be constructed in various ways, for example, without limitation by hand knitting, machine knitting, hand sewing, crocheting, or machine sewing.

Various operations may be described as multiple discrete operations in turn, in a manner that may be helpful in understanding embodiments of the present disclosure; however, the order of description should not be necessarily be construed to imply that these operations are order dependent.

Finally, this application discloses a method for forming a snowboard helmet cover. The method may include knitting a fabric into a dome shape, and forming the fabric to include a plurality of slits therein such that a goggle retention strap coupled with the snowboard helmet is able to selectively pass through one or more slits in order to enable the goggle retention strap to form a closed loop.

In various embodiments the dome shape may be formed by: casting on N number of stitches where N is a starting number of stitches, knitting the N number of stitches into a first circular loop, and knitting every stitch around. Then reducing N by 7 and casting on the reduced N number of stitches, and knitting the reduced N number of stitches into another circular loop, and knitting every stitch around. Then continuing the reducing N by 7 and the casting on the reduced N number of stitches until N is less than 7, and passing the yarn from the last stitch through all the remaining stitches.

In some embodiments the N starting number of stitches may be 49. In some embodiments the first circular loop may be, for example, approximately 7 inches long.

In some embodiments the method may also include forming the dome shape to extend below a bottom edge of the snowboard helmet and forming an extended flap so that a wearer may use the extended flap to cover one or more portions of the wearer's head below the bottom edge of the snowboard helmet

In some embodiments the dome-shape may be formed by casting on 49 stitches and knitted the 49 stitches into a circular loop up to 7 inches long. Then, for every 7 stitches, decreasing the stitch count by 1 until a first complete circle is finished, and knitting every stitch around. Then for every 6 stitches, decreasing the stitch count by 1 until a second complete circle is finished, and knitting every stitch around. Then for every 5 stitches, decreasing the stitch count by 1 until a third complete circle is finished, and knitting every stitch around. Then for every 4 stitches, decreasing the stitch count by 1 until a fourth complete circle is finished, and knitting every stitch around. Then for every 3 stitches, decreasing the stitch count by 1 until a fifth complete circle is finished, and knitting every stitch around. Then for every 2 stitches, decreasing the stitch count by 1 until a sixth complete circle is finished, and knitting every stitch around, then passing the yarn from the last stitch through all the remaining stitches.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings, when considered in connection with the following description, are presented for the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the subject matter sought to be protected.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a first embodiment of a snowboard helmet cover;

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a snowboard helmet cover;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an example cord configuration in accordance with various embodiments; and

FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of another embodiment of a snowboard helmet cover.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While the present snowboard helmet cover is described with reference to several illustrative embodiments described herein, it should be clear that the present invention should not be limited to such embodiments. Therefore, the description of the embodiments provided herein is illustrative of the present invention and should not limit the scope of the invention as claimed. In addition, while the following description references drawings showing particular configurations and proportions, it will be appreciated that the invention may be configured to have other configurations and proportions.

The description may use perspective-based descriptions such as up/down, back/front, and top/bottom. Such descriptions are merely used to facilitate the discussion and are not intended to restrict the application of embodiments of the present invention.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-5, a first embodiment of a helmet cover 10 is disclosed. The helmet cover 10 may include a fabric 15, for example a knitted fabric formed into, or to include, a dome shape 20. The fabric 15 may include a plurality of holes 25 configured to allow a goggle retention strap 30 to pass therethrough in order to enable the goggle retention strap 30 to form a closed loop 35.

In some embodiments the fabric 15 may be configured to extend past a bottom edge 42 of the helmet 45 and to cover a portion of the wearer's head 53 below the bottom edge 42. For example, the fabric 15 may be configured to extend past a bottom front edge 60 of the helmet 45 and to cover a portion 50 of the wearer's forehead 55 between the bottom front edge 60 of the helmet 45 and a top edge 65 of a pair of goggles 70 worn by the wearer 75.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an example cord structure 80 that may be used to form the fabric 15 of the helmet cover 10. The fabric 15 may be knitted with the cord structure 80 and may include an elastic cord 85 twisted, or rolled together with, and/or surrounded by, cords 90 of one or more predetermined colors. The cords 90 of one or more predetermined colors may be one or more dyed yarns 90. The elastic cord 85 may be a cotton-covered elastic cord. FIG. 4 illustrates an elastic cord 85 with a cotton covering 95. Other coverings may be used. With some embodiments the elastic cord 85 may be spandex. The cord structure 80 may be, for example, 3 cords of yarn 90 twisted together with cotton-covered spandex to form a composite bigger yarn.

In some embodiments the dome shape 20 may be formed using a cord, or cord structure 80 with 49 stitches casted on and knitted into a circular loop. Then for every 7 stitches the stitch count may be decreased by 1 until a first complete circle is finished. Then every stitch of the first complete circle may be knitted around. Then for every 6 stitches the stitch count may be decreased by 1 until a second complete circle is finished. Then every stitch of the second complete circle may be knitted around. Then for every 5 stitches, the stitch count may be decreased by 1 until a third complete circle is finished. Then every stitch of the third complete circle may be knitted around. Then for every 4 stitches, the stitch count may be decreased by 1 until a fourth complete circle may be finished. Then every stitch of the fourth complete circle may be knitted around. Then for every 3 stitches, the stitch count may be decreased by 1 until a fifth complete circle may be finished. Then every stitch of the fifth complete circle may be knitted around. Then for every 2 stitches, the stitch count may be decreased by 1 until a sixth complete circle may be finished. Then every stitch of the sixth complete circle may be knitted around. Then the cord may be passed from the last stitch through all the remaining stitches.

In some embodiments the helmet cover 10 may be a snowboard helmet cover 10. Some embodiments may provide a snowboard helmet cover 10 including a fabric 15 sized and shaped to substantially cover at least a majority of the outside surface of the helmet 45. The fabric 15 may include at least two slits 25, or holes 25 therein. A first 27 of the at least two slits 25 may be disposed in the fabric 15 to allow one or both of two mating portions 100/105 of a goggle retention strap 30 connected to the helmet 45 to pass therethrough. A second 29 of the at least two slits may be disposed in the fabric 15 to allow one or both of the two mating portions 100/105 of the goggle retention strap 30 connected to the helmet 45 to pass therethrough, the first and second slits 27/29 thereby allowing the first and second portions 100/105 to mate. The mating may include snaps, or clips, or Velcro®, or the like to facilitate the mating.

Some embodiments may also include multiple slits 25 in the fabric 15 to allow the fabric 15 to be positioned over the helmet 45 in more than one position while allowing at least one portion of the goggle retention strap 30 to pass through two of the multiple slits 25, and allowing the first and second goggle retention strap portions 100/105 to mate.

In some embodiments, the slits 25 may be formed as integral features of the fabric structure. For example, the fabric 15 structure may be a knitted structure, and the slits 25 may be formed in the knitted structure. The knitted structure may include a substantially large plurality of slits 25.

In some embodiments the fabric 15 may be configured to be flexible, and to have a first state configured to fit over the snowboard helmet, and a second state configured to fit substantially snuggly over the head of a wearer with the snowboard helmet removed.

In some cases, the snowboard helmet cover 10 may also include one or more decorative elements coupled with the fabric to give the helmet cover a stylish and/or humorous appearance. FIG. 5 illustrates an example snowboarding helmet in the design of an injured frog with large eyeballs 120 sticking out constructed in accordance with various embodiments. The background color of one eye may be, for example, a green eye 125 the other eye may be, for example a black eye 130. This may be done to depicting a black eye for a frog that's been hurt from taking a fall. The eyes of the frog may be constructed with the same knitting technique mentioned above but at smaller scale. For example, they may be 20 stitches casted on, and as soon as 2.5″ is reached, then decreasing stitches may be made at every 4 stitches. The interior of the eye balls may be stuffed with rolled up, balls of yarn for example. The yarn may the same, or a similar kind of yarn used to make the body of the cover. Instead, or in addition to the ball of yarn, a squeaker can be put inside one or both eyeballs so that whenever an eyeball is squeezed, a squeaky noise will be made. This may add to the fun of the design.

While the present disclosure has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements. 

1. A helmet cover comprising: a fabric formed into a dome shape, the fabric including a plurality of holes configured to allow a goggle retention strap to pass therethrough in order to enable the goggle retention strap to form a closed loop.
 2. The helmet cover of claim 1, wherein the fabric is configured to extend past a bottom front edge of the helmet and to cover a portion of the wearer's forehead between the bottom edge of the helmet and a top edge of a pair of goggles worn by the wearer.
 3. The helmet cover of claim 1, wherein the fabric is knitted with a cord structure having an elastic cord surrounded by cords of one or more predetermined colors.
 4. The helmet cover of claim 1, wherein the fabric is knitted with a cord structure including a cotton-covered elastic cord rolled together with one or more dyed yarns.
 5. The helmet cover of claim 4, wherein the elastic cord is spandex.
 6. The helmet cover of claim 1, wherein the dome shape is formed using a cord with 49 stitches casted on and knitted into a circular loop, then for every 7 stitches the stitch count is decreased by 1 until a first complete circle is finished, then every stitch of the first complete circle is knitted around, then for every 6 stitches the stitch count is decreased by 1 until a second complete circle is finished, then every stitch of the second complete circle is knitted around, then for every 5 stitches, the stitch count is decreased by 1 until a third complete circle is finished, then every stitch of the third complete circle is knitted around, then for every 4 stitches, the stitch count is decreased by 1 until a fourth complete circle is finished, then every stitch of the fourth complete circle is knitted around, then for every 3 stitches, the stitch count is decreased by 1 until a fifth complete circle is finished, then every stitch of the fifth complete circle is knitted around, then for every 2 stitches, the stitch count is decreased by 1 until a sixth complete circle is finished, then every stitch of the sixth complete circle is knitted around, then the cord is passed from the last stitch through all the remaining stitches.
 7. A snowboard helmet cover comprising: a fabric sized and shaped to substantially cover at least a majority of the outside surface of the helmet; the fabric including at least two slits therein, a first of the at least two slits disposed in the fabric to allow one or both of two mating portions of a goggle retention strap connected to the helmet to pass therethrough, a second of the at least two slits disposed in the fabric to allow one or both of the two mating portions of the goggle retention strap connected to the helmet to pass therethrough, the first and second slits thereby allowing the first and second portions to mate.
 8. The snowboard helmet cover of claim 7, further comprising multiple slits in the fabric to allow the fabric to be positioned over the helmet in more than one position while allowing at least one portion of the goggle retention strap to pass through two of the multiple slits and allowing the first and second goggle retention strap portions to mate.
 9. The snowboard helmet cover of claim 7, wherein the fabric is configured to extend past a bottom front edge of the helmet and to cover a portion of the wearer's head below the bottom edge.
 10. The snowboard helmet cover of claim 7, wherein the slits are formed in a knitted structure, and wherein the knitted structure includes a substantially large plurality of slits.
 11. The snowboard helmet cover of claim 7, wherein the fabric has a fabric structure, and wherein the slits are formed as integral features of the fabric structure.
 12. The snowboard helmet cover of claim 7, wherein the fabric is made from a composite cord including an elastic cord twisted together with dyed treads.
 13. The snowboard helmet cover of claim 12, wherein the fabric is configured to be flexible to have a first state configured to fit over the snowboard helmet, and a second state configured to fit substantially snuggly over the head of a wearer with the snowboard helmet removed.
 14. The snowboard helmet cover of claim 7, wherein the fabric is made from a cotton-covered spandex twisted together with dyed treads.
 15. The snowboard helmet cover of claim 7, further comprising one or more decorative elements coupled with the fabric to give the helmet cover a stylish and/or humorous appearance.
 16. A method of forming a snowboard helmet cover comprising: knitting a fabric into a dome shape; and forming the fabric to include a plurality of slits therein such that a goggle retention strap coupled with the snowboard helmet is able to selectively pass through one or more slits in order to enable the goggle retention strap to form a closed loop.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the dome shape is formed by: casting on N number of stitches where N is a starting number of stitches; knitting the N number of stitches into a first circular loop; knitting every stitch around; reducing N by 7 and casting on the reduced N number of stitches, and knitting the reduced N number of stitches into another circular loop; knitting every stitch around; continuing the reducing N by 7 and the casting on the reduced N number of stitches until N is less than 7; and passing the yarn from the last stitch through all the remaining stitches.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the N starting number of stitches is
 49. 19. The method of claim 17, further comprising: forming the dome shape to extend below a bottom edge of the snowboard helmet and forming an extended flap so that a wearer can use the extended flap to cover one or more portions of the wearer's head below the bottom edge of the snowboard helmet.
 20. The method of claim 16, wherein the dome shape is formed by: casting on 49 stitches and knitted the 49 stitches into a circular loop up to 7 inches long; for every 7 stitches, decreasing the stitch count by 1 until a first complete circle is finished; knitting every stitch around; for every 6 stitches, decreasing the stitch count by 1 until a second complete circle is finished; knitting every stitch around; for every 5 stitches, decreasing the stitch count by 1 until a third complete circle is finished; knitting every stitch around; for every 4 stitches, decreasing the stitch count by 1 until a fourth complete circle is finished; knitting every stitch around; for every 3 stitches, decreasing the stitch count by 1 until a fifth complete circle is finished; knitting every stitch around; for every 2 stitches, decreasing the stitch count by 1 until a sixth complete circle is finished; knitting every stitch around; and passing the yarn from the last stitch through all the remaining stitches. 